1.
Pratovecchio
–
Pratovecchio Stia is a comune in the province of Arezzo, Tuscany. It was formed by the merger of the two former comuni of Pratovecchio and Stia in 2014, dono di Paolo, father of the Florentine artist Paolo Uccello, was a barber-surgeon from Pratovecchio. Dono moved to Florence and became a citizen there in 1373, monastery and church of San Giovanni Evangelista. Renovated in the 17th century, it has a Baroque portal, artworks include an Coronation of the Virgin by Giovanni Bizzelli and an Assumption by the Master of Pratovecchio. Church of San Biagio, in Ama, built in the 11th century in Romanesque style, it has a Gothic portal Church of Santi Vito e Modesto, in Lonnano. Santa Maria a Poppiena, at Poppiena, documented from 1099, the apse is introduced by an arch and has three mullioned windows decorated in alabaster stones. It houses a 15th-century Annunciation by Giovanni dal Ponte and fragment of a 14th-century fresco of Madonna Enthroned with Child, monastery of Santa Maria della Neve, founded in 1567. Pieve di San Pietro a Romena, in Romena, the church was built in the mid-12th century over a pre-existing edifice, perhaps dating to the 8th century. Notable are the decoration of the interiors. The edifice is flanked by the late-Romanesque baptistery, at Romena is also a castle where Dante Alighieri lived for a short time during his exile from Florence. The castle was destroyed in 1440 by Niccolò Piccininos Milanese troops and it was bombed and damaged by the Allies during World War II. Church of San Romolo, at Valiana, founded in 1126 and it houses a noteworthy Pietà by an unknown master, dating from the late 14th-early 15th centuries
Pratovecchio
–
Apse view of the
pieve of Romena
2.
Florence
–
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the Metropolitan City of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants, Florence was a centre of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of the time. It is considered the birthplace of the Renaissance, and has called the Athens of the Middle Ages. A turbulent political history includes periods of rule by the powerful Medici family, from 1865 to 1871 the city was the capital of the recently established Kingdom of Italy. The Historic Centre of Florence attracts 13 million tourists each year and it was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982. The city is noted for its culture, Renaissance art and architecture, the city also contains numerous museums and art galleries, such as the Uffizi Gallery and the Palazzo Pitti, and still exerts an influence in the fields of art, culture and politics. Due to Florences artistic and architectural heritage, it has been ranked by Forbes as one of the most beautiful cities in the world, in 2008, the city had the 17th highest average income in Italy. Florence originated as a Roman city, and later, after a period as a flourishing trading and banking medieval commune. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, it was politically, economically, and culturally one of the most important cities in Europe, the language spoken in the city during the 14th century was, and still is, accepted as the Italian language. Starting from the late Middle Ages, Florentine money—in the form of the gold florin—financed the development of all over Europe, from Britain to Bruges, to Lyon. Florentine bankers financed the English kings during the Hundred Years War and they similarly financed the papacy, including the construction of their provisional capital of Avignon and, after their return to Rome, the reconstruction and Renaissance embellishment of Rome. Florence was home to the Medici, one of European historys most important noble families, Lorenzo de Medici was considered a political and cultural mastermind of Italy in the late 15th century. Two members of the family were popes in the early 16th century, Leo X, catherine de Medici married king Henry II of France and, after his death in 1559, reigned as regent in France. Marie de Medici married Henry IV of France and gave birth to the future king Louis XIII, the Medici reigned as Grand Dukes of Tuscany, starting with Cosimo I de Medici in 1569 and ending with the death of Gian Gastone de Medici in 1737. The Etruscans initially formed in 200 BC the small settlement of Fiesole and it was built in the style of an army camp with the main streets, the cardo and the decumanus, intersecting at the present Piazza della Repubblica. Situated along the Via Cassia, the route between Rome and the north, and within the fertile valley of the Arno, the settlement quickly became an important commercial centre. Peace returned under Lombard rule in the 6th century, Florence was conquered by Charlemagne in 774 and became part of the Duchy of Tuscany, with Lucca as capital. The population began to again and commerce prospered
Florence
–
A collage of Florence showing the
Galleria degli Uffizi (top left), followed by the
Palazzo Pitti, a sunset view of the city and the
Fountain of Neptune in the
Piazza della Signoria
Florence
–
A wooden model of Florence as it would have probably looked during Roman times, showing the ancient amphitheatre
Florence
–
The façade of the Cathedral
Florence
–
Leonardo da Vinci statue outside the
Uffizi Gallery.
3.
Lorenzo Ghiberti
–
Trained as a goldsmith and sculptor, he established an important workshop for sculpture in metal. His book of Commentari contains important writing on art, as well as what may be the earliest surviving autobiography by any artist, Ghiberti was born in Pelago,20 km from Florence. His father was Bartoluccio Ghiberti, an artist and goldsmith, who trained his son in goldsmithing and he then went to work in the Florence workshop of Bartoluccio di Michele, where Antonio del Pollaiolo also received his training. When the bubonic plague struck Florence in 1400, Ghiberti emigrated to Rimini, Ghibertis career was dominated by his two successive commissions for pairs of bronze doors to the Florence Baptistery. They are recognized as a masterpiece of the Early Renaissance. Ghiberti first became famous when as a 23-year-old he won the 1401 competition for the first set of bronze doors, the original plan was for the doors to depict scenes from the Old Testament, but the plan was changed to depict scenes from the New Testament instead. However, the piece made was of the sacrifice of Isaac. To carry out this commission, he set up a workshop in which many artists trained, including Donatello, Masolino, Michelozzo, Uccello. Instead of twenty-eight scenes, he produced ten rectangular scenes in a different style. These were more naturalistic, with perspective and a greater idealization of the subject, dubbed The Gates of Paradise by Michelangelo, this second set remains a major monument of the age of Renaissance humanism. As recommended by Giotto, Andrea Pisano was awarded the commission to design the first set of doors at the Florence Baptistery in 1329, the south doors were originally installed on the east side facing the Duomo, and were transferred to their present location in 1452. These proto-Renaissance doors consist of 28 quatrefoil panels, with the twenty top panels depicting scenes from the life of St. John the Baptist, the eight lower panels depict the eight virtues of hope, faith, charity, humility, fortitude, temperance, justice and prudence. Pisano took six years to them, finishing in 1336. In 1453, Ghiberti and his son Vittorio were commissioned to add a door case to Pisanos existing panels, Ghiberti died in 1455, eight years before the frame was finished leaving a majority of the work to Vitorrio and other members of his workshop. There is a Latin inscription on top of the door, Andreas Ugolini Nini de Pisis me fecit A. D. MCCCXXX, the South Doors were undergoing restoration during September,2016. In 1401, the Arte di Calimala announced a competition to design doors which would eventually be placed on the side of the baptistry. These new doors would serve as an offering to celebrate Florence being spared from relatively recent scourges such as the Black Death in 1348. Many artists competed for this commission and a jury selected seven semifinalists which included Ghiberti, Filippo Brunelleschi, Donatello, at the time of judging, only Ghiberti and Brunelleschi were finalists, and when the judges could not decide, they were assigned to work together on them
Lorenzo Ghiberti
–
Gates of Paradise.
Lorenzo Ghiberti
–
Lorenzo Ghiberti on Gates of Paradise, modern copy
Florence Baptistery
Lorenzo Ghiberti
–
In Flagellation, one of the panels on the North Doors.
Lorenzo Ghiberti
–
The story of
Joseph, a panel from the second set of doors to the
Baptistery
4.
Fresco
–
Fresco is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly-laid, or wet lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the fresco technique has been employed since antiquity and is closely associated with Italian Renaissance painting. Buon fresco pigment mixed with water of temperature on a thin layer of wet, fresh plaster, for which the Italian word for plaster. Because of the makeup of the plaster, a binder is not required, as the pigment mixed solely with the water will sink into the intonaco. The pigment is absorbed by the wet plaster, after a number of hours, many artists sketched their compositions on this underlayer, which would never be seen, in a red pigment called sinopia, a name also used to refer to these under-paintings. Later, new techniques for transferring paper drawings to the wall were developed. The main lines of a drawing made on paper were pricked over with a point, the paper held against the wall, if the painting was to be done over an existing fresco, the surface would be roughened to provide better adhesion. This area is called the giornata, and the different day stages can usually be seen in a large fresco, buon frescoes are difficult to create because of the deadline associated with the drying plaster. Once a giornata is dried, no more buon fresco can be done, if mistakes have been made, it may also be necessary to remove the whole intonaco for that area—or to change them later, a secco. An indispensable component of this process is the carbonatation of the lime, the eyes of the people of the School of Athens are sunken-in using this technique which causes the eyes to seem deeper and more pensive. Michelangelo used this technique as part of his trademark outlining of his central figures within his frescoes, in a wall-sized fresco, there may be ten to twenty or even more giornate, or separate areas of plaster. After five centuries, the giornate, which were nearly invisible, have sometimes become visible, and in many large-scale frescoes. Additionally, the border between giornate was often covered by an a secco painting, which has fallen off. One of the first painters in the period to use this technique was the Isaac Master in the Upper Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi. A person who creates fresco is called a frescoist, a secco or fresco-secco painting is done on dry plaster. The pigments thus require a medium, such as egg. Blue was a problem, and skies and blue robes were often added a secco, because neither azurite blue nor lapis lazuli. By the end of the century this had largely displaced buon fresco
Fresco
–
Fresco in the church Mariä Verkündigung in Fuchstal,
Bavaria, Germany from Thomas Springer
Fresco
–
Fresco
Sistine Chapel in the
Vatican, Rome, Italy.
Fresco
–
Etruscan fresco of Velia Velcha from the
Tomb of Orcus,
Tarquinia.
Fresco
–
Fresco of "
Sappho " from
Pompeii, c. 50 CE.
5.
Funerary Monument to Sir John Hawkwood
–
The Funerary Monument to Sir John Hawkwood is a fresco by Paolo Uccello, commemorating English condottiero John Hawkwood, commissioned in 1436 for Florences Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore. The fresco is an important example of art commemorating a soldier-for-hire who fought in the Italian peninsula and is a work in the development of perspective. The politics of the commissioning and recommissioning of the fresco have been analyzed and debated by historians, the fresco is the oldest extant and authenticated work of Uccello, from a relatively well-known aspect of his career compared to the periods before and after its creation. The fresco has been restored and is now detached from the wall, Hawkwood had a long military career and a complicated relationship with Florence. He fought for England during the Hundred Years War and then with the Great Company which had harassed the Avignon Papacy, Hawkwood and the White Company remained in Italy, accepting money from many city-states, both to wage war and to refrain from it. Hawkwood also received a 600 florin annual salary for the five years. Hawkwood married Donnina, the daughter of Bernabò Visconti, in 1377. In that same year he defected to Florence, Hawkwoods 1377 massacre at Cesena during the twilight of his papal employment in the War of the Eight Saints continues to tarnish his legacy. However, Hawkwood was the de facto commander-in-chief of Florences military from 1377 until immediately prior to his death in 1394, Hawkwood, now in his seventies, made preparations to return to England, where he had been sending money to acquire land, and set up a chantry. Just as he was liquidating his affairs in Italy, he died, Florence acquiesced to Richard IIs request in a June 3,1395 letter, Our devotion can deny nothing to the eminence of your highness. We will leave nothing undone that is possible to do, so that we may fulfill your good pleasure, nevertheless, according to the tenor of your request, we freely concede permission that his remains shall return to their native land. In any case, the monument would have run into difficulty. In the Quattrocento, it was traditional for condottieri like Hawkwood to be buried in major public churches, tibertino Brandolino was interred at San Francesco in Venice, Jacopo de Cavalli at SS. Holding ever more lavish funeral ceremonies for fallen condottieri was only one way in which Italian city-states competed with other to attract the services of the most skilled mercenaries. Hawkwoods funeral was sandwiched between the funerals in Siena of Giovanni dAzzo degli Ubaldini—who had been poisoned by the Florentines in the Visconti wars—and Giovanni Tedesco da Pietramala and it was unprecedented for the Signoria to vote to erect a monument to a living person in the cathedral. The ambiguous plans of the Signoria—which likely was aware of Hawkwoods health status—might well have been for a rather than a cenotaph, Hawkwood died soon after. Painters Agnolo Gaddi and Giuliano Arrighi were selected by a committee to directly onto the Duomo wall models for the Hawkwood. Although neither tomb was realized, documentary evidence suggests that a painting of Hawkwood—with a figure of Hawkwood by Gaddi, the fresco probably came to replace the tomb, maybe for reasons of expedience and frugality, although there is little documentary evidence on this regard
Funerary Monument to Sir John Hawkwood
–
Funerary Monument to Sir John Hawkwood: the fresco measures 732 x 404 cm (288 x 159 in); with
Trompe-l'œil frame added in the 16th century, 820 x 515 cm (323 x 203 in).
Funerary Monument to Sir John Hawkwood
–
Engraving of John Hawkwood, based on the fresco
Funerary Monument to Sir John Hawkwood
–
A tomb was prepared for Hawkwood in St. Peter's in
Sible Hedingham, but it is unknown whether his body was repatriated.
Funerary Monument to Sir John Hawkwood
–
The fresco of fellow condottiero Niccolò da Tolentino is adjacent to the Hawkwood in the
Florence Cathedral.
6.
Saint George and the Dragon (Uccello)
–
Saint George and the Dragon is a painting by Paolo Uccello dating from around 1470. It is on display in the National Gallery, London, United Kingdom and it was formerly housed in the Palais Lanckoroński in Vienna, belonging to Count Lanckoroński and sold by his son and heir Anton in 1959 through Mr Farago. The first mention of it being there is 1898, gothicizing tendencies in Paolo Uccellos art are nowhere more apparent than in this painting. It shows a scene from the story of Saint George. On the right George is spearing the beast, and on the left the princess is using her belt as a leash to take the dragon up to the town. The eye in the gathering on the right of Saint George is lined up with his spear showing there has been divine intervention. An earlier less dramatic version of the subject by the Italian artist is in the Musée Jacquemart-André
Saint George and the Dragon (Uccello)
–
Saint George and the Dragon
7.
The Battle of San Romano
–
The Battle of San Romano is a set of three paintings by the Florentine painter Paolo Uccello depicting events that took place at the Battle of San Romano between Florentine and Sienese forces in 1432. They are significant as revealing the development of perspective in early Italian Renaissance painting. The paintings are in egg tempera on wooden panels, each over 3 metres long, according to the National Gallery, London, the panels were commissioned by a member of the Bartolini Salimbeni family in Florence sometime between 1435 and 1460. The paintings were admired in the 15th century, Lorenzo de Medici so coveted them that he purchased one and had the remaining two forcibly removed to the Palazzo Medici. They are now divided between three collections, the National Gallery, the Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, and the Musée du Louvre, Paris. The three paintings are, The Uffizi panel was designed to be the central painting of the triptych and is the only one signed by the artist. The sequence most widely agreed among art historians is, London, Uffizi, Louvre and they may represent different times of day, dawn, mid-day and dusk – the battle lasted eight hours. In the London painting, Niccolò da Tolentino, with his large gold and red patterned hat, is seen leading the Florentine cavalry. He had a reputation for recklessness, and doesnt even wear a helmet, in the foreground, broken lances and a dead soldier are carefully aligned into orthogonals, so as to create an impression of perspective. Similar to that of a tapestry, the landscape rises up in a plane as opposed to receding deeply into space. This illusion of a backdrop and a theme resembling a stage. Many areas of the paintings were covered with gold and silver leaf, the original impression of the burnished silver would have been dazzling. All of the paintings, especially that in the Louvre, have suffered from time and early restoration, the panels were a subject in the BBC series The Private Life of a Masterpiece,2005. The dark horse in the Louvre panel, mounted by Micheletto Attendolo, can be painted in a tapestry. In the 4th Episode of the 2011 TV Series The Borgias, starn, Randolph and Loren Partridge, Representing war in the Renaissance, The shield of Paolo Uccello, Representations, No
The Battle of San Romano
–
Detail of Niccolò da Tolentino from the left panel, now in London
The Battle of San Romano
–
Niccolò Mauruzi da Tolentino at the Battle of San Romano (probably c. 1438–1440), egg tempera with walnut oil and linseed oil on poplar, 182 × 320 cm,
National Gallery, London.
The Battle of San Romano
–
Niccolò Mauruzi da Tolentino unseats Bernardino della Ciarda at the Battle of San Romano (dating uncertain, c. 1435–1455), tempera on wood, 182 × 320 cm,
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
8.
Renaissance
–
The Renaissance was a period in European history, from the 14th to the 17th century, regarded as the cultural bridge between the Middle Ages and modern history. It started as a movement in Italy in the Late Medieval period and later spread to the rest of Europe. This new thinking became manifest in art, architecture, politics, science, Early examples were the development of perspective in oil painting and the recycled knowledge of how to make concrete. Although the invention of movable type sped the dissemination of ideas from the later 15th century. In politics, the Renaissance contributed to the development of the customs and conventions of diplomacy, the Renaissance began in Florence, in the 14th century. Other major centres were northern Italian city-states such as Venice, Genoa, Milan, Bologna, the word Renaissance, literally meaning Rebirth in French, first appeared in English in the 1830s. The word also occurs in Jules Michelets 1855 work, Histoire de France, the word Renaissance has also been extended to other historical and cultural movements, such as the Carolingian Renaissance and the Renaissance of the 12th century. The Renaissance was a movement that profoundly affected European intellectual life in the early modern period. Renaissance scholars employed the humanist method in study, and searched for realism, however, a subtle shift took place in the way that intellectuals approached religion that was reflected in many other areas of cultural life. In addition, many Greek Christian works, including the Greek New Testament, were back from Byzantium to Western Europe. Political philosophers, most famously Niccolò Machiavelli, sought to describe life as it really was. Others see more competition between artists and polymaths such as Brunelleschi, Ghiberti, Donatello, and Masaccio for artistic commissions as sparking the creativity of the Renaissance. Yet it remains much debated why the Renaissance began in Italy, accordingly, several theories have been put forward to explain its origins. During the Renaissance, money and art went hand in hand, Artists depended entirely on patrons while the patrons needed money to foster artistic talent. Wealth was brought to Italy in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries by expanding trade into Asia, silver mining in Tyrol increased the flow of money. Luxuries from the Eastern world, brought home during the Crusades, increased the prosperity of Genoa, unlike with Latin texts, which had been preserved and studied in Western Europe since late antiquity, the study of ancient Greek texts was very limited in medieval Western Europe. One of the greatest achievements of Renaissance scholars was to bring this entire class of Greek cultural works back into Western Europe for the first time since late antiquity, Arab logicians had inherited Greek ideas after they had invaded and conquered Egypt and the Levant. Their translations and commentaries on these ideas worked their way through the Arab West into Spain and Sicily and this work of translation from Islamic culture, though largely unplanned and disorganized, constituted one of the greatest transmissions of ideas in history
Renaissance
–
David, by
Michelangelo (
Accademia di Belle Arti,
Florence) is a masterpiece of Renaissance and world art.
Renaissance
–
Renaissance
Renaissance
–
Leonardo da Vinci 's
Vitruvian Man (c. 1490) shows clearly the effect writers of Antiquity had on Renaissance thinkers. Based on the specifications in
Vitruvius '
De architectura (1st century BC), Leonardo tried to draw the perfectly proportioned man.
Renaissance
–
Portrait of a young woman (c. 1480-85) (
Simonetta Vespucci) by
Sandro Botticelli
9.
Italy
–
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
Italy
–
The
Colosseum in Rome, built c. 70 – 80 AD, is considered one of the greatest works of
architecture and
engineering of ancient history.
Italy
–
Flag
Italy
–
The
Iron Crown of Lombardy, for centuries symbol of the
Kings of Italy.
Italy
–
Castel del Monte, built by German Emperor
Frederick II,
UNESCO World Heritage site
10.
Perspective (graphical)
–
Perspective in the graphic arts is an approximate representation, on a flat surface, of an image as it is seen by the eye. If viewed from the spot as the windowpane was painted. Each painted object in the scene is thus a flat, scaled down version of the object on the side of the window. All perspective drawings assume the viewer is a distance away from the drawing. Objects are scaled relative to that viewer, an object is often not scaled evenly, a circle often appears as an ellipse and a square can appear as a trapezoid. This distortion is referred to as foreshortening, Perspective drawings have a horizon line, which is often implied. This line, directly opposite the viewers eye, represents objects infinitely far away and they have shrunk, in the distance, to the infinitesimal thickness of a line. It is analogous to the Earths horizon, any perspective representation of a scene that includes parallel lines has one or more vanishing points in a perspective drawing. A one-point perspective drawing means that the drawing has a vanishing point, usually directly opposite the viewers eye. All lines parallel with the line of sight recede to the horizon towards this vanishing point. This is the standard receding railroad tracks phenomenon, a two-point drawing would have lines parallel to two different angles. Any number of vanishing points are possible in a drawing, one for each set of lines that are at an angle relative to the plane of the drawing. Perspectives consisting of parallel lines are observed most often when drawing architecture. In contrast, natural scenes often do not have any sets of parallel lines, the only method to indicate the relative position of elements in the composition was by overlapping, of which much use is made in works like the Parthenon Marbles. Chinese artists made use of perspective from the first or second century until the 18th century. It is not certain how they came to use the technique, some authorities suggest that the Chinese acquired the technique from India, oblique projection is also seen in Japanese art, such as in the Ukiyo-e paintings of Torii Kiyonaga. This was detailed within Aristotles Poetics as skenographia, using flat panels on a stage to give the illusion of depth, the philosophers Anaxagoras and Democritus worked out geometric theories of perspective for use with skenographia. Alcibiades had paintings in his house designed using skenographia, so this art was not confined merely to the stage, Euclids Optics introduced a mathematical theory of perspective, but there is some debate over the extent to which Euclids perspective coincides with the modern mathematical definition
Perspective (graphical)
–
Staircase in two-point perspective.
Perspective (graphical)
–
15th century illustration from the
Old French translation of
William of Tyre 's Histoire d'Outremer.
Perspective (graphical)
–
Geometrically incorrect attempt at perspective in a 1614 painting of
Old St Paul's Cathedral. (
Society of Antiquaries)
Perspective (graphical)
–
Codex Amiatinus (7th century). Portrait, of Ezra, from folio 5r at the start of
Old Testament
11.
Lives of the Artists
–
The title is often abridged to just the Vite or the Lives. As the first Italian art historian, Vasari initiated the genre of an encyclopedia of artistic biographies that continues today, Vasaris work was first published in 1550 by Lorenzo Torrentino in Florence, and dedicated to Cosimo I de Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. It included a treatise on the technical methods employed in the arts. It was partly rewritten and enlarged in 1568 and provided with portraits of artists. The work has a consistent and notorious favour of Florentines and tends to attribute to them all the new developments in Renaissance art—for example, Venetian art in particular, let alone other parts of Europe, is systematically ignored. Between his first and second editions, Vasari visited Venice and the edition gave more attention to Venetian art without achieving a neutral point of view. Vasaris biographies are interspersed with amusing gossip, many of his anecdotes have the ring of truth, although likely inventions. He did not research archives for exact dates, as art historians do, and naturally his biographies are most dependable for the painters of his own generation. Modern criticism—with all the new materials opened up by research—has corrected many of his traditional dates, the work is widely considered a classic even today, though it is widely agreed that it must be supplemented by modern critical research. Vasari includes a sketch of his own biography at the end of his Vite. Vasaris Vite has been described as by far the most influential text for the history of Renaissance art. The Vite has been translated wholly or partially into many languages, including English, Dutch, German, Spanish, French, the Vite formed a model for encyclopedias of artist biographies. Different 17th century translators became artist biographers in their own country of origin and were called the Vasari of their country. In England, Aglionbys Painting Illustrated from 1685 was largely based on Vasari as well, the Vite is also important as the basis for discussions about the development of style. Finally, it has also been for centuries the most important source of information on Early Renaissance Italian painters and the attribution of their paintings. The Vite contains the biographies of many important Italian artists, and is adopted as a sort of classical reference guide for their names. The following list respects the order of the book, as divided into its three parts, the book starts with a dedication to Cosimo I de Medici and a preface, and then starts with technical and background texts about architecture, sculpture, and painting. A second preface follows, introducing the actual Vite in parts 2 to 5, what follows is the complete list from the second edition
Lives of the Artists
–
Title page of the 1568 edition of the Vite
12.
Giorgio Vasari
–
Vasari was born in Arezzo, Tuscany. Recommended at an age by his cousin Luca Signorelli, he became a pupil of Guglielmo da Marsiglia. He was befriended by Michelangelo whose painting style would influence his own, in 1529, he visited Rome where he studied the works of Raphael and other artists of the Roman High Renaissance. Vasaris own Mannerist paintings were admired in his lifetime than afterwards. In 1547 he completed the hall of the chancery in Palazzo della Cancelleria in Rome with frescoes that received the name Sala dei Cento Giorni and he was consistently employed by members of the Medici family in Florence and Rome, and worked in Naples, Arezzo and other places. He also helped to organize the decoration of the Studiolo, now reassembled in the Palazzo Vecchio, aside from his career as a painter, Vasari was also successful as an architect. In Florence, Vasari also built the long passage, now called Vasari Corridor, the enclosed corridor passes alongside the River Arno on an arcade, crosses the Ponte Vecchio and winds around the exterior of several buildings. He also renovated the medieval churches of Santa Maria Novella and Santa Croce, at both he removed the original rood screen and loft, and remodelled the retro-choirs in the Mannerist taste of his time. In Santa Croce, he was responsible for the painting of The Adoration of the Magi which was commissioned by Pope Pius V in 1566 and it was recently restored, before being put on exhibition in 2011 in Rome and in Naples. Eventually it is planned to return it to the church of Santa Croce in Bosco Marengo, in 1562 Vasari built the octagonal dome on the Basilica of Our Lady of Humility in Pistoia, an important example of high Renaissance architecture. In Rome, Vasari worked with Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola and Bartolomeo Ammanati at Pope Julius IIIs Villa Giulia, the Lives also included a novel treatise on the technical methods employed in the arts. The book was rewritten and enlarged in 1568, with the addition of woodcut portraits of artists. The work has a consistent and notorious bias in favour of Florentines, and tends to attribute to them all the developments in Renaissance art – for example, Venetian art in particular, is systematically ignored in the first edition. Between the first and second editions, Vasari visited Venice and while the edition gave more attention to Venetian art. Vasaris biographies are interspersed with amusing gossip, with a few exceptions, however, Vasaris aesthetic judgement was acute and unbiased. He did not research archives for exact dates, as art historians do, and naturally his biographies are most dependable for the painters of his own generation. Modern criticism – with new materials opened up by research – has corrected many of his traditional dates and attributions. Vasari includes a sketch of his own biography at the end of the Lives, according to the historian Richard Goldthwaite, Vasari was one of the earliest authors to use the term competition in its economic sense
Giorgio Vasari
–
Vasari's self-portrait
Giorgio Vasari
–
Giorgio Vasari, Italian humanists, Tuscan Poets: Dante, Petrarch, Guido Cavalcanti, Boccaccio, Cino da Pistoia and Guittone d'Arezzo
Giorgio Vasari
–
Giorgio Vasari, The Garden of Gethsemane
Giorgio Vasari
–
The Uffizi Loggia.
13.
Battle of San Romano
–
The Battle of San Romano was fought on June 1,1432, some 30 miles outside Florence, between the troops of Florence, commanded by Niccolò da Tolentino, and Siena, under Francesco Piccinino. The outcome is considered favourable to the Florentines, but in the Sienese chronicles it was considered a victory. As the 1430s began Florence had found itself in conflict with the city state of Lucca. The Florentine deployed about 4,000 horse and 2,000 infantry, the clash, which lasted for some six or seven hours, consisted of a series of heavy cavalry fights. It was decided by the intervention of a cavalry corps commanded by Micheletto Attendolo. The battle was depicted in three paintings by the Italian Renaissance artist, Paolo Uccello, The Battle of San Romano. condottieridiventura. it
Battle of San Romano
–
Niccolò da Tolentino leading the Florentine cavalry
14.
International Gothic
–
International Gothic is a period of Gothic art which initially developed in Burgundy, France and northern Italy in the late 14th and early 15th century. It then spread widely across Western Europe, hence the name for the period. The main influences were northern France, the Duchy of Burgundy, the Imperial court in Prague, royal marriages such as that between Richard II of England and Anne of Bohemia helped to spread the style. It was initially a style of courtly sophistication, but somewhat more robust versions spread to art commissioned by the mercantile classes. Usage of the terms by art historians varies somewhat, with using the term more restrictively than others. Some art historians feel the term is in many ways, since it tends to skate over both differences and details of transmission. The important Bohemian version of the style developed in the court of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor in Prague, which for a brief period became a leading force in the development of European art. Charles came from the Luxembourg dynasty, was tutored by the future Pope Clement VI, the Bohemian style initially lacked the elongated figures of other centres, but had a richness and sweetness in female figures that were very influential. Charles had at least one Italian altarpiece, apparently made in Italy and sent to Prague, for St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague, he first used a French architect, and then the German Peter Parler. As the style developed in Northern Europe, Italian artists were in turn influenced by it, from this period come the earliest surviving panel portraits of monarchs, and royal manuscripts show a greatly increased number of realistic portraits of the monarch who commissioned them. In painting and sculpture, the style is known in German as the Schöne Stil or Weicher Stil. Stylistic features are a dignified elegance, which replaces monumentality, along with rich decorative colouring, elongated figures and it also makes a more practised use of perspective, modelling, and setting. Figures begin to be more space in their settings, and interest is taken in realistically depicted plants. In some works, above all the calendar scenes of the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry. Decoration became increasingly ornate as the style developed in Northern Europe, claus Sluter was the leading sculptor in Burgundy, and was one artist able to use the style with a strongly monumental effect. Most sculptors are unknown, and the style tended to survive longer in Northern sculpture than painting, smaller painted wood figures, most often of the Madonna, were significant, and being relatively portable, probably helped to disseminate the style across Europe. In Burgundy Jean Malouel, Melchior Broederlam and Henri Bellechose were succeeded by Robert Campin, master Bertram and Conrad von Soest were leading regional masters in Germany, working largely for city burghers. Surviving panel paintings of the best quality from before 1390 are very rare except from Italy, many of these artists moved between countries or regions during their careers, exposing them to the styles of other centres
International Gothic
–
Bust of the Virgin, Bohemia, c. 1390–95,
terracotta with polychromy
International Gothic
–
Detail of the
Annunciation (1333) by the Sienese
Simone Martini, Uffizi.
International Gothic
–
The
Votive Panel of Jan Očko of Vlašim. Kneeling
Emperor Charles IV and his son
Wenceslaus before the Virgin, Bohemia, 1371. (detail)
International Gothic
–
Jean de Vaudetar, chamberlain of king
Charles V of France, presents his gift of a manuscript to the King, 1372.
15.
Marcel Schwob
–
He has been called a surrealist precursor. In addition to over a short stories, he wrote journalistic articles, essays, biographies, literary reviews and analysis, translations. He was extremely well known and respected during his life and notably befriended a great numbers of intellectuals and he was born in Chaville, Hauts-de-Seine on 23 August 1867 into a cultivated family. His father, George Schwob, was a friend of Théodore de Banville and Théophile Gautier and his mother, Mathilde Cahun, came from a family of intellectuals from Alsace. He was the brother of Maurice Schwob and uncle of Claude Cahun and his family had just returned from Egypt, where his father had headed the cabinet of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for ten years. When the French Third Republic began, the Schwob family lived in Tours, in 1876, he moved to Nantes to direct the Republican daily Le Phare de la Loire, after he died in 1892, his eldest son Maurice, born in 1859, took his place. At age 11 he discovered the work of Edgar Allan Poe translated by Charles Baudelaire and he then read the original versions of his tales in English and they proved to be a lifelong influence in his writing. In 1878-1879, he studied at the Lycée of Nantes where he won the 1st Prize for Excellence and he developed a gift for languages and quickly became multilingual. In 1884, he discovered Robert Louis Stevenson, who was to one of his friends. He studied philology and Sanscrit under Ferdinand de Saussure at the École Pratique des Hautes Études in 1883-4 and he then completed his military service in Vannes, joining the artillery. He failed his exams for the École Normal Supérieure. He became a professional journalist, collaborating in the Phare de la Loire, the Evénement and the Echo de Paris. For eight years he wrote stories that were collected in six books, Cœur double, Le Roi au masque dor, Mimes, Le Livre de Monelle, La croisade des infants. His last short story, Letoile de bois, is the longest one he wrote and was published in 1897, two large reprint collections of his stories were published during his lifetime, La Porte des rêves, illustrated by Georges de Feure, and La lampe de Psyché. Wilde struggled with his French, and the play was proofread and he did write articles, introductions and essays, adapted and translated several plays, and planned or began numerous projects that remained unfinished when he died. Ting later worked for explorer Paul Pelliot, whom he accompanied to Turkestan, in 1901, assisted by Ting, he travelled first to Jersey, where he stayed for several weeks, and then to Uriage, trying to improve his health. He then began the biggest voyage of his life, traveling to Samoa, like his hero Stevenson, leaving from Marseilles, he stopped in Port Said, Djibouti, Aden, toured Sri Lanka, Sydney and finally Vailima, where Stevenson had lived. There, he met people that had known Stevenson and he stayed for a little less than a month
Marcel Schwob
–
Marcel Schwob
Marcel Schwob
–
Interior cover of the comics anthology Lapin, issue 16 (July 1997), featuring a portrait of Schwob by Emmanuel Guibert.
16.
Antonin Artaud
–
Antoine Artaud was born 4 September 1896 in Marseille, France, to Euphrasie Nalpas and Antoine-Roi Artaud. Both his parents were natives of Smyrna, and he was affected by his Greek ancestry. His mother gave birth to nine children, four out of the nine were stillborn and he contracted spinal meningitis at the age of 4. This disease has no cure, but after a long struggle including a comatose period, Artauds parents arranged a long series of sanatorium stays for their temperamental son, which were both prolonged and expensive. This lasted five years, with a break of two months in June and July 1916, when Artaud was conscripted into the French Army and he was allegedly discharged due to his self-induced habit of sleepwalking. During Artauds rest cures at the sanatorium, he read Arthur Rimbaud, Charles Baudelaire, in May 1919, the director of the sanatorium prescribed laudanum for Artaud, precipitating a lifelong addiction to that and other opiates. In March 1920, Artaud moved to Paris to pursue a career as a writer, while training and performing with directors including Charles Dullin and Georges Pitoeff, he continued to write both poetry and essays. Their compilation into a work, Correspondance avec Jacques Rivière, was Artauds first major publication. Artaud cultivated a great interest in cinema as well, writing the scenario for the first surrealist film, The Seashell and this film influenced Salvador Dalí and Luis Buñuel, two key Spanish surrealists, when they made Un Chien Andalou. Artauds performance as Jean-Paul Marat in Abel Gances Napoleon used exaggerated movements to convey the fire of Marats personality and he also played the monk Massieu in Carl Theodor Dreyers The Passion of Joan of Arc. In 1926-28, Artaud ran the Alfred Jarry Theatre, along with Roger Vitrac and he produced and directed original works by Vitrac, as well as pieces by Claudel and Strindberg. The theatre advertised that they would produce Artauds play Jet de sang in their 1926-1927 season, the Theatre was extremely short-lived, but was attended by an enormous range of European artists, including André Gide, Arthur Adamov, and Paul Valéry. In 1931, Artaud saw Balinese dance performed at the Paris Colonial Exposition, although he did not fully understand the intentions and ideas behind traditional Balinese performance, it influenced many of his ideas for theatre. Also during this year, Artauds First Manifesto for a Theatre of Cruelty was published in La Nouvelle Revue Française, it would appear as a chapter in The Theatre. In 1935, Artauds production of his adaptation of Shelleys The Cenci premiered, les Censi was a commercial failure, although it employed innovative sound effects-including the first theatrical use of the electronic instrument the Ondes Martenot—and had a set designed by Balthus. Artaud also studied and lived with the Tarahumaran people and experimented with peyote, recording his experiences, the content of this work closely resembles the poems of his later days, concerned primarily with the supernatural. Artaud also recorded his horrific withdrawal from heroin upon entering the land of the Tarahumaras, having deserted his last supply of the drug at a mountainside, he literally had to be hoisted onto his horse and soon resembled, in his words, a giant, inflamed gum. Artaud would return to later in life
Antonin Artaud
–
Antonin Artaud
17.
Barber
–
A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave mens and boys hair. A barbers place of work is known as a shop or a barbers. Barber shops are also places of social interaction and public discourse, in some instances, barbershops are also public forums. They are the locations of open debates, voicing public concerns and they were also influential in helping shape male identity. In previous times, barbers performed surgery and dentistry. With the development of safety razors and the prevalence of beards, in English-speaking cultures. In modern times, the barber is used both as a professional title and to refer to hairdressers who specialize in mens hair. Historically, all hairdressers were considered barbers, in the 20th century, the profession of cosmetology branched off from barbering, and today hairdressers may be licensed as either barbers or cosmetologists. Barbers differ with respect to where they work, which services they are licensed to provide, part of this terminology difference depends on the regulations in a given location. Different states in the US vary on their labor and licensing laws, for example, in Maryland, a cosmetologist cannot use a straight razor, strictly reserved for barbers. In Australia, the term for a barber is hairdresser, barber is only a popular title for mens hairdressers. Most would work in a hairdressing salon, the barbers trade has a long history, razors have been found among relics of the Bronze Age in Egypt. In ancient Egyptian culture, barbers were highly respected individuals, priests and men of medicine are the earliest recorded examples of barbers. Men in Ancient Greece would have their beards, hair, and fingernails trimmed and styled by the κουρεύς, in an agora which also served as a gathering for debates. Barbering was introduced to Rome by the Greek colonies in Sicily in 296 BC, starting from the Middle Ages, barbers often served as surgeons and dentists. In addition to haircutting, hairdressing, and shaving, barbers performed surgery, bloodletting and leeching, fire cupping, enemas, the barber pole, featuring red and white spiraling stripes, symbolized different aspects of the craft. Barbers received higher pay than surgeons until surgeons were entered into British warships during naval wars, some of the duties of the barber included neck manipulation, cleansing of ears and scalp, draining of boils, fistula and lancing of cysts with wicks. Barbershops were influential at the turn of the 19th century as African American businesses that helped to develop African American culture and economy
Barber
–
Edwin Lord Weeks, "The Barber"
Barber
–
A street barber in
Shiraz
Barber
–
Barbershop in
Bucharest around 1842. Woodcut. As shown in this image, the barbershop also provides an opportunity for social contacts.
Barber
–
The barbershop in Fluvanna, Texas, has been restored as part of a pioneer village in
Snyder in
Scurry County in
West Texas.
18.
Florence Baptistery
–
The Florence Baptistery, also known as the Baptistery of Saint John, is a religious building in Florence, Italy, and has the status of a minor basilica. The octagonal baptistery stands in both the Piazza del Duomo and the Piazza San Giovanni, across from Florence Cathedral and the Campanile di Giotto, the Baptistery is one of the oldest buildings in the city, constructed between 1059 and 1128 in the Florentine Romanesque style. The Baptistry is renowned for its three sets of artistically important bronze doors with relief sculptures, the south doors were created by Andrea Pisano and the north and east doors by Lorenzo Ghiberti. The east doors were dubbed by Michelangelo the Gates of Paradise, the Italian poet Dante and many other notable Renaissance figures, including members of the Medici family, were baptized in this baptistry. It was long believed that the Baptistry was originally a Roman temple dedicated to Mars, the chronicler Giovanni Villani reported this medieval Florentine legend in his fourteenth-century Nuova Cronica on the history of Florence. It is, however, certain that a first octagonal baptistry was erected here in the fourth or early fifth century. It was replaced or altered by another early Christian baptistry in the sixth century and its construction is attributed to Theodolinda, queen of the Lombards to seal the conversion of her husband, King Authari. The octagon had been a common shape for baptisteries for many centuries since early Christian times, the number eight is a symbol of regeneration in Christianity, signifying the six days of creation, the Day of Rest, and a day of re-creation through the Sacrament of Baptism. The earlier baptistry was the second basilica after San Lorenzo, outside the northern city wall. It was first recorded as such on 4 March 897, when the Count Palatine, the granite pilasters were probably taken from the Roman forum sited at the location of the present Piazza della Repubblica. At that time, the baptistry was surrounded by a cemetery with Roman sarcophagi, the present much larger Baptistry was built in Romanesque style around 1059, evidence of the growing economic and political importance of Florence. It was reconsecrated on 6 November 1059 by Pope Nicholas II, according to legend, the marbles were brought from Fiesole, conquered by Florence in 1078. Other marble came from ancient structures, the construction was finished in 1128. An octagonal lantern was added to the roof around 1150. On the corners, under the roof, are monstrous lion heads with a head under their claws. Between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, three double doors were added, with bronze and marble statues above them. This gives an indication that the Baptistry, at time, was at least equal to the neighbouring cathedral in importance. The Baptistry has eight sides with a rectangular addition on the west side
Florence Baptistery
–
Florence Baptistry (Battistero di San Giovanni).
Florence Baptistery
–
Mosaic -covered interior of the
octagonal dome
Florence Baptistery
–
Illustration from Villani's
Nuova Cronica, showing
Totila razing the walls of Florence in the 6th century, leaving the Baptistry intact
Florence Baptistery
–
Octagonal plan
19.
Donatello
–
Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi, better known as Donatello, was an early Renaissance sculptor from Florence. He worked with stone, bronze, wood, clay, stucco and wax, and had several assistants, with four perhaps being a typical number. Though his best-known works were mostly statues in the round, he developed a new, very shallow, type of bas-relief for small works, and a good deal of his output was larger architectural reliefs. Donatello was the son of Niccolò di Betto Bardi, who was a member of the Florentine Arte della Lana, Donatello was educated in the house of the Martelli family. He apparently received his artistic training in a goldsmiths workshop. While undertaking study and excavations with Filippo Brunelleschi in Rome, work that gained the two men the reputation of treasure seekers, Donatello made a living by working at goldsmiths shops. In 1409–1411 he executed the colossal seated figure of Saint John the Evangelist, which until 1588 occupied a niche of the old cathedral façade and this work marks a decisive step forward from late Gothic Mannerism in the search for naturalism and the rendering of human feelings. The face, the shoulders and the bust are still idealized, while the hands, in 1411–13, Donatello worked on a statue of St. Mark for the guild church of Orsanmichele. In 1417 he completed the Saint George for the Confraternity of the Cuirass-makers, the elegant St. George and the Dragon relief on the statues base, executed in schiacciato is one of the first examples of central-point perspective in sculpture. From 1423 is the Saint Louis of Toulouse for the Orsanmichele, Donatello had also sculpted the classical frame for this work, which remains, while the statue was moved in 1460 and replaced by Incredulity of Saint Thomas by Verrocchio. Between 1415 and 1426, Donatello created five statues for the campanile of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, also known as the Duomo. These works are the Beardless Prophet, Bearded Prophet, the Sacrifice of Isaac, Habbakuk, and Jeremiah, from the late teens is the Pazzi Madonna relief in Berlin. In 1425, he executed the notable Crucifix for Santa Croce, this work portrays Christ in a moment of the agony, eyes and mouth partially opened, the body contracted in an ungraceful posture. From 1425 to 1427, Donatello collaborated with Michelozzo on the monument of the Antipope John XXIII for the Battistero in Florence. Donatello made the recumbent bronze figure of the deceased, under a shell, in 1427, he completed in Pisa a marble relief for the funerary monument of Cardinal Rainaldo Brancacci at the church of SantAngelo a Nilo in Naples. In the same period, he executed the relief of the Feast of Herod, the relief is mostly in stiacciato, with the foreground figures are done in bas-relief. Around 1430, Cosimo de Medici, the foremost art patron of his era and this is now Donatellos most famous work, and the first known free-standing nude statue produced since antiquity. Also from this period is the disquietingly small Love-Atys, housed in the Bargello, some have perceived the David as having homo-erotic qualities, and have argued that this reflected the artists own orientation
Donatello
–
16th-century portrait
Donatello
–
Statue of St. John the Baptist in the Duomo di Siena
Donatello
–
In 1409–1411 he executed the colossal seated figure of Saint John the Evangelist.
Donatello
–
Donatello David head and shoulders front right
20.
Vasari
–
Vasari was born in Arezzo, Tuscany. Recommended at an age by his cousin Luca Signorelli, he became a pupil of Guglielmo da Marsiglia. He was befriended by Michelangelo whose painting style would influence his own, in 1529, he visited Rome where he studied the works of Raphael and other artists of the Roman High Renaissance. Vasaris own Mannerist paintings were admired in his lifetime than afterwards. In 1547 he completed the hall of the chancery in Palazzo della Cancelleria in Rome with frescoes that received the name Sala dei Cento Giorni and he was consistently employed by members of the Medici family in Florence and Rome, and worked in Naples, Arezzo and other places. He also helped to organize the decoration of the Studiolo, now reassembled in the Palazzo Vecchio, aside from his career as a painter, Vasari was also successful as an architect. In Florence, Vasari also built the long passage, now called Vasari Corridor, the enclosed corridor passes alongside the River Arno on an arcade, crosses the Ponte Vecchio and winds around the exterior of several buildings. He also renovated the medieval churches of Santa Maria Novella and Santa Croce, at both he removed the original rood screen and loft, and remodelled the retro-choirs in the Mannerist taste of his time. In Santa Croce, he was responsible for the painting of The Adoration of the Magi which was commissioned by Pope Pius V in 1566 and it was recently restored, before being put on exhibition in 2011 in Rome and in Naples. Eventually it is planned to return it to the church of Santa Croce in Bosco Marengo, in 1562 Vasari built the octagonal dome on the Basilica of Our Lady of Humility in Pistoia, an important example of high Renaissance architecture. In Rome, Vasari worked with Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola and Bartolomeo Ammanati at Pope Julius IIIs Villa Giulia, the Lives also included a novel treatise on the technical methods employed in the arts. The book was rewritten and enlarged in 1568, with the addition of woodcut portraits of artists. The work has a consistent and notorious bias in favour of Florentines, and tends to attribute to them all the developments in Renaissance art – for example, Venetian art in particular, is systematically ignored in the first edition. Between the first and second editions, Vasari visited Venice and while the edition gave more attention to Venetian art. Vasaris biographies are interspersed with amusing gossip, with a few exceptions, however, Vasaris aesthetic judgement was acute and unbiased. He did not research archives for exact dates, as art historians do, and naturally his biographies are most dependable for the painters of his own generation. Modern criticism – with new materials opened up by research – has corrected many of his traditional dates and attributions. Vasari includes a sketch of his own biography at the end of the Lives, according to the historian Richard Goldthwaite, Vasari was one of the earliest authors to use the term competition in its economic sense
Vasari
–
Vasari's self-portrait
Vasari
–
Giorgio Vasari, Italian humanists, Tuscan Poets: Dante, Petrarch, Guido Cavalcanti, Boccaccio, Cino da Pistoia and Guittone d'Arezzo
Vasari
–
Giorgio Vasari, The Garden of Gethsemane
Vasari
–
The Uffizi Loggia.
21.
Francis of Assisi
–
Saint Francis of Assisi, born Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, informally named as Francesco, was an Italian Roman Catholic friar and preacher. He founded the mens Order of Friars Minor, the women’s Order of Saint Clare, the Third Order of Saint Francis, Francis is one of the most venerated religious figures in history. Pope Gregory IX canonized Francis on 16 July 1228, along with Saint Catherine of Siena, he was designated Patron saint of Italy. In 1219, he went to Egypt in an attempt to convert the Sultan to put an end to the conflict of the Crusades, by this point, the Franciscan Order had grown to such an extent that its primitive organizational structure was no longer sufficient. He returned to Italy to organize the Order, once his community was authorized by the Pope, he withdrew increasingly from external affairs. Francis is also known for his love of the Eucharist, in 1223, Francis arranged for the first Christmas live nativity scene. He died during the hours of 3 October 1226, while listening to a reading he had requested of Psalm 142. Pietro was in France on business when Francis was born in Assisi, upon his return to Assisi, Pietro took to calling his son Francesco, possibly in honor of his commercial success and enthusiasm for all things French. Since the child was renamed in infancy, the change can hardly have had anything to do with his aptitude for learning French, as some have thought. While going off to war in 1202, Francis had a vision that directed him back to Assisi, in 1205, Francis left for Apulia to enlist in the army of Walter III, Count of Brienne. Francis lived the high-spirited life typical of a young man. In 1201, he joined an expedition against Perugia and was taken as a prisoner at Collestrada. It is possible that his conversion was a gradual process rooted in this experience. Upon his return to Assisi in 1203, Francis returned to his carefree life, in 1204, a serious illness led him to a spiritual crisis. A strange vision made him return to Assisi, deepening his ecclesiastical awakening, on a pilgrimage to Rome, he joined the poor in begging at St. Peters Basilica, an experience that moved him to live in poverty. Francis returned home, began preaching on the streets, and soon gathered followers and his Order was authorized by Pope Innocent III in 1210. He then founded the Order of Poor Clares, which became a religious order for women. As a youth, Francesco became a devotee of troubadours and was fascinated with all things Transalpine, in this account, he was selling cloth and velvet in the marketplace on behalf of his father when a beggar came to him and asked for alms
Francis of Assisi
–
The Stigmata of Saint Francis by
Bartolomeo della Gatta, tempera on wood circa 1487
Francis of Assisi
–
The house where Francis of Assisi lived when young
Francis of Assisi
–
Francis of Assisi by
Cimabue
Francis of Assisi
–
Francis considered his
stigmata part of the
Imitation of Christ.
Cigoli, 1699
22.
Santa Maria Maggiore di Firenze
–
Santa Maria Maggiore di Firenze is a Romanesque and Gothic-style, Roman Catholic church in Florence, region of Tuscany, Italy. This is among the oldest extant churches in Florence, the church was originally constructed in the 11th century and underwent extensive renovations to the facade and sides in the 13th century. The original church existed as early as the 8th century, and is first documented in 931, the legend assigning its foundation to Pope Pelagius II in 580 A. D. is not reliable. In 1176 it obtained the status of church and was one of Florences priories. The church subsequently expanded its possessions and in 1183 it was put under direct protection by Lucius III in 1186. Acquired by the Cistercians, in the 13th century the church was rebuilt in Gothic style, antony Abbot, of which today only a fragment survives. During the 15th century the churchs finances declined, in 1514 Giulio de Medici describes it as decaying, in 1521 it went to the Carmelites from Mantua. In the early 17th century the interior was restored by Gherardo Silvani, the exterior is rather undecorated, with stone walls and the portals surmounted by tympani. The bell tower, although reduced in height, survives from the Romanesque building and it has a Roman head embedded in its walls, popularly known as Berta The interior is simple with a nave and two aisles, ogival arches and groin vaults. A recent restoration has caused scholars to question this attribution and posit an earlier, the same chapel houses the tomb of Brunetto Latini, discovered in 1751, and a sarcophagus attributed to Tino di Camaino. Frosinini, ed. Limmagine antica della Madonna col Bambino di Santa Maria Maggiore
Santa Maria Maggiore di Firenze
–
Facade of Santa Maria Maggiore di Firenze
Santa Maria Maggiore di Firenze
–
Frescoed pilaster in the rear area.
Santa Maria Maggiore di Firenze
–
La Berta.
23.
Annunciation
–
Gabriel told Mary to name her son Yehoshua, meaning YHWH is salvation. According to Luke 1,26, the Annunciation occurred in the month of Elizabeths pregnancy with John the Baptist. Many Christians observe this event with the Feast of the Annunciation on 25 March, an approximation of the vernal equinox nine full months before Christmas. In England, this came to be known as Lady Day and it marked the new year until 1752. The 2nd-century writer Irenaeus of Lyon regarded the conception of Jesus as 25 March coinciding with the Passion, the Annunciation has been a key topic in Christian art in general, as well as in Marian art in the Catholic Church, particularly during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. A work of art depicting the Annunciation is sometimes called an Annunciation. 28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured,29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. 30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary,31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be,36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing shall be impossible,38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her,19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. 21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS,35 In answer the angel said to her, Holy spirit will come upon you, and power of the Most High will overshadow you. And for that reason the one who is born will be called holy, manuscript 4Q246 of the Dead Sea Scrolls reads, shall be great upon the earth. O king, all people shall make peace, and all shall serve him and he shall be called the son of the Great God, and by his name shall he be hailed as the Son of God, and they shall call him Son of the Most High. It has been suggested that the similarity in content is such that Lukes version may in some way be dependent on the Qumran text, the Annunciation is described in the Quran, in Sura 003,045 verses 45–51,45 Behold. Muslim tradition holds that the Annunciation took place during the month of Ramadan, in Greek, the Annunciation is known as the Good Tidings or Evangelism. In the Orthodox Churches that use a new style Calendar, the feast is celebrated on March 25, in churches using the old style Julian calendar, the feast day is April 7. The traditional hymn for the feast of the Annunciation goes back to St Athanasius, indeed, the Divine Liturgy is celebrated on Great and Holy Friday only when the latter coincides with the feast of the Annunciation
Annunciation
–
Annunciation by
Paolo de Matteis, 1712. The
white lily in the angel's hand is symbolic of Mary's purity in
Marian art.
Annunciation
–
Annunciation by
El Greco
Annunciation
–
Annunciation, work by unknown artist
Annunciation
–
The Annunciation - Johann Christian Schröder
24.
Church Fathers
–
The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church are ancient and generally influential Christian theologians, some of whom were eminent teachers and great bishops. The era of these scholars who set the theological and scholarly foundations of Christianity largely ended by 700 AD, the earliest Church Fathers, are usually called the Apostolic Fathers since tradition describes them as having been taught by the twelve. Important Apostolic Fathers include Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Polycarp of Smyrna and his epistle,1 Clement, was copied and widely read in the Early Church. Clement calls on the Christians of Corinth to maintain harmony and order and it is the earliest Christian epistle aside from the New Testament. Ignatius of Antioch was the bishop or Patriarch of Antioch. En route to his martyrdom in Rome, Ignatius wrote a series of letters which have been preserved, important topics addressed in these letters include ecclesiology, the sacraments, the role of bishops, and the Incarnation of Christ. He is the second after Clement to mention Pauls epistles, Polycarp of Smyrna was a Christian bishop of Smyrna. It is recorded that he had been a disciple of John, the options for this John are John, the son of Zebedee, traditionally viewed as the author of the Gospel of John, or John the Presbyter. Traditional advocates follow Eusebius in insisting that the connection of Polycarp was with John the Evangelist, and that he was the author of the Gospel of John. Polycarp tried and failed to persuade Pope Anicetus to have the West celebrate Passover on 14 Nisan, around 155, the Smyrnans demanded Polycarps execution as a Christian, and he died a martyr. Polycarp is recognized as a saint in both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, very little is known of Papias apart from what can be inferred from his own writings. He is described as an ancient man who was a hearer of John, Eusebius adds that Papias was Bishop of Hierapolis around the time of Ignatius of Antioch. In this office Papias was presumably succeeded by Abercius of Hierapolis, the name Papias was very common in the region, suggesting that he was probably a native of the area. The work of Papias is dated by most modern scholars to about 95–120. Despite indications that the work of Papias was still extant in the late Middle Ages, extracts, however, appear in a number of other writings, some of which cite a book number Those who wrote in Greek are called the Greek Fathers. Justin Martyr is regarded as the foremost interpreter of the theory of the Logos in the 2nd century, Irenaeus was bishop of Lugdunum in Gaul, which is now Lyon, France. His writings were formative in the development of Christian theology. He was a notable early Christian apologist and he was also a disciple of Polycarp. His best-known book, Against Heresies enumerated heresies and attacked them, Irenaeus wrote that the only way for Christians to retain unity was to humbly accept one doctrinal authority—episcopal councils
Church Fathers
–
The Church Fathers, an 11th-century
Kievan miniature from Svyatoslav's Miscellany
Church Fathers
–
St. Athanasius, depicted with a book, an iconographic symbol of the importance of his writings.
Church Fathers
–
Jesus
Church Fathers
–
Virgin Mary
25.
San Miniato
–
San Miniato is a town and comune in the province of Pisa, in the region of Tuscany, Italy. San Miniato sits at a strategic location atop three small hills where it dominates the lower Arno valley between the valleys of Egola and Elsa. It used to carry the additional sobriquet al Tedesco to distinguish it from the convent of San Miniato al Monte in Florence, in medieval times, San Miniato was on the via Francigena, which was the main connecting route between northern Europe and Rome. It also sits at the intersection of the Florence-Pisa and the Lucca-Siena roads, over the centuries San Miniato was therefore exposed to a constant flow of friendly and hostile armies, traders in all manner of goods and services, and other travelers from near and far. Archaeological evidence indicates that the site of the city and surrounding area has settled since at least the paleolithic era. It would have well known to the Etruscans, and certainly to the Romans. The first mention in documents is of a small village organized around a chapel dedicated to San Miniato built by the Lombards in 783. By the end of the 10th century San Miniato boasted a sizeable population enclosed behind a moat, in 1116, the new imperial vicar for Tuscany, Rabodo, established himself at San Miniato, supplanting Florence as the centre of government. The site came to be known as al Tedesco, since the imperial vicars, mostly German, the first walls, with defensive towers, were thrown up in the 12th century during the time that Italy was dominated by Frederick Barbarossa. Under his grandson, Frederick II, the town was fortified with expanded walls and other defensive works, including the Rocca. During the latter years of the 13th century and the entire 14th century, initially Ghibelline, it had become a Guelph city by 1291, allied with Florence and, in 1307, fought with other members of the Guelph league against the Ghibelline Arezzo. It was still part of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany when the Duchy was absorbed into the newly formed Kingdom of Italy in 1860, the city is enclosed within a well-preserved medieval precinct. Main landmarks include, The Tower of Frederick, built by Frederick II in the 13th century on the summit of the hill at an elevation of 192 metres, here was imprisoned Fredericks chanchellor Pier delle Vigne until his death. During World War II it was destroyed by the German Army to prevent the Allies from using it as a gun sighting tower, the Duomo, dedicated to both SantAssunta and Santo Genesio or Saint Genesius of Rome. It was originally a Romanesque building, but it has been remodelled several times and exhibits Gothic, the façade incorporates a number of colorful majolica bowls. The interior has Latin cross plan with a nave with two side aisles. The cathedrals campanile, a fortification annexed in is called the Matilde Tower, the Diocesan Museum, next to the cathedral. This museum-gallery contains works by Filippo Lippi, Jacopo Chimenti, Neri di Bicci, Fra Bartolomeo, Frederico Cardi, palazzo dei Vicari, built by Emperor Otto IV during the 12th century, the palazzo incorporates one of the oldest known crenellated turrets
San Miniato
–
Bell tower of the Cathedral.
San Miniato
–
Rocca (castle) of San Miniato.
San Miniato
–
Piazza Buonaparte.
26.
Cheese soup
–
Cheese soup is a type of soup prepared using cheese as a primary ingredient, along with milk, broth and/or stock to form its basis. Various additional ingredients are used in its preparation, and various types and styles of cheese soup exist and it is a part of some cuisines in the world, such as American, Colombian, Mexican, Swiss and Tibetan cuisines. Mass-produced cheese soups may be prepared with the addition of food additives to preserve them, a list of cheese soups is included in this article. Cheese soup is a part of various cuisines, such as American cuisine, Colombian cuisine, Mexican cuisine, Swiss cuisine, Mote de queso is a traditional cheese soup dish in the Córdoba Department of Colombia. In Spanish, cheese soup translates to sopa de queso, in Switzerland, cheese soup is referred to as Kassuppe, and it is a specialty dish in Central Switzerland. Churu is a Tibetan cheese soup prepared with churu cheese of Tibet, Cheese is a main ingredient in cheese soup, and is typically used in the dish in grated form or in chunks or pieces. Cheeses used include hard cheeses like Cheddar, Gruyère and Parmesan cheese and soft ones such as cheese, Gouda cheese, muenster cheese, queso blanco. The cheese adds both flavor and nutritional value to the soup, processed cheese, such as pasteurized process cheese and pasteurized process cheese food is sometimes used instead of natural cheese. Some cheese soups have a flavor and may be high in fat due to the use of high-fat ingredients such as butter and heavy cream. Fat content of the soup can be reduced by the use of such as low- or non-fat cheese, fat-free milk. Milk and/or broth such as broth or stock are used to form the liquid basis for cheese soup. Additional ingredients can include half and half, beer, bread crumbs, butter, eggs, onion, onion juice, garlic, vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, carrot and celery, spices and seasonings. Ingredients that can enhance the flavor of cheese soup include chopped bacon, beer and chopped broccoli, croutons are sometimes used as topping. Cheese soup is cooked in a bain-marie to prevent it from burning or scorching. Cheese soups can also be reheated using a double boiler, mass-produced cheese soups may have additives to enhance their flavor and to preserve them. For example, modified-butterfat products are used in some mass-produced cheese soups as a flavor enhancer, gels formed from pectin are used in some mass-produced cheese soups as a fat replacement. It can also be prepared fresh, from scratch, cheeseburger soup Churu – Tibetan cheese soup prepared with Tibetan mold-ripened churu cheese. Both the cheese and the soup are referred to using the name churu, Churu soup may also include lamb as an ingredient
Cheese soup
–
Queso Relleno
Cheese soup
–
Beer cheese soup
Cheese soup
–
Types
27.
Santa Maria Novella
–
Santa Maria Novella is a church in Florence, Italy, situated just across from the main railway station named after it. Chronologically, it is the first great basilica in Florence, and is the citys principal Dominican church, the church, the adjoining cloister, and chapter house contain a multiplicity of art treasures and funerary monuments. Especially famous are frescoes by masters of Gothic and early Renaissance and they were financed by the most important Florentine families, who ensured themselves funerary chapels on consecrated ground. This church was called Novella because it was built on the site of the 9th-century oratory of Santa Maria delle Vigne, when the site was assigned to Dominican Order in 1221, they decided to build a new church and adjoining cloister. The church was designed by two Dominican friars, Fra Sisto Fiorentino and Fra Ristoro da Campi, building began in the mid-13th century, and was finished about 1360 under the supervision of Friar Iacopo Talenti with the completion of the Romanesque-Gothic bell tower and sacristy. At that time, only the part of the Tuscan gothic façade was finished. This same design continues in the wall around the old churchyard. The church was consecrated in 1420, alberti had also designed the façade for the Rucellai Palace in Florence. The four columns with Corinthian capitals on the part of the façade were also added. The pediment and the frieze are clearly inspired by antiquity, but the S-curved scrolls in the part are new. The scrolls, found in all over Italy, all draw their origins from the design of this church. The frieze below the pediment carries the name of the patron, the vast interior is based on a basilica plan, designed as a Latin cross, and is divided into a nave, two aisles with stained-glass windows and a short transept. The large nave is 100 metres long and gives an impression of austerity, there is a trompe loeil effect by which towards the apse the nave seems longer than its actual length. The slender compound piers between the nave and the aisles are progressively closer the deeper the observer moves into the nave, the ceiling in the vault consists of pointed arches with the four diagonal buttresses in black and white. The interior also contains Corinthian columns that were inspired by Greek, the stained-glass windows date from the 14th and 15th century, such as 15th century Madonna and Child and St. John and St. Philip, both in the Filippo Strozzi Chapel. Some stained glass windows have been damaged in the course of centuries and have been replaced, the one on the façade, a depiction of the Coronation of Mary, dates from the 14th century, and is based on a design of Andrea di Bonaiuto da Firenze. The pulpit, commissioned by the Rucellai family in 1443, was designed by Filippo Brunelleschi and this pulpit has a particular historical significance, since it was from this pulpit that the first verbal attack was made on Galileo Galilei, leading eventually to his indictment. The Holy Trinity, situated almost halfway along the aisle, is a pioneering early Renaissance work of Masaccio, showing his new ideas about perspective
Santa Maria Novella
–
The façade of Santa Maria Novella, completed by Leon Battista Alberti in 1470.
Santa Maria Novella
–
Via degli Avelli side
Santa Maria Novella
–
The Holy Trinity by Masaccio.
Santa Maria Novella
–
Fresco by
Andrea di Bonaiuto da Firenze in the Spanish Chapel: Allegory of the Active and Triumphant Church and of the Dominican order (c. 1365)
28.
Deluge (mythology)
–
A flood myth or deluge myth is a narrative in which a great flood, usually sent by a deity or deities, destroys civilization, often in an act of divine retribution. Most flood myths also contain a culture hero, who represents the human craving for life, the Mesopotamian flood stories concern the epics of Ziusudra, Gilgamesh, and Atrahasis. In the Sumerian King List, it relies on the motif to divide its history into preflood and postflood periods. The preflood kings had enormous lifespans, whereas postflood lifespans were much reduced, in the Atrahasis version, the flood is a river flood. In the Genesis mythology of the Hebrew Bible, Yahweh decides to flood the earth because of the depth of the state of mankind. Righteous Noah is given instructions to build an ark, when the ark is completed, Noah, his family, and representatives of all the animals of the earth are called upon to enter the ark. When the destructive flood begins, all life outside of the ark perishes, after the waters recede, all those aboard the ark disembark and have Gods promise that he will never judge the earth with a flood again. He gives the rainbow as the sign of this promise, in the 19th century, Assyriologist George Smith translated the Babylonian account of a great flood. Further discoveries produced several versions of the Mesopotamian flood myth, with the account closest to that in Genesis found in a 700 BCE Babylonian copy of the Epic of Gilgamesh, the vessel would save Utnapishtim, his family, his friends, and the animals. In Platos Timaeus, Timaeus says that because the Bronze race of Humans had been making wars constantly Zeus was angered and decided to punish humanity by a flood. Prometheus the Titan knew of this and told the secret to Deucalion, after 9 nights and days, the water started receding and the ark was landed at Mount Parnassus. In ancient Mesopotamia, the Sumerian King List reads After kingship came down from heaven, the kingship was taken to Shuruppak. In Shuruppak, Ubara-Tutu became king, he ruled for 5 sars and 1 ner, in 5 cities 8 kings, they ruled for 241,200 years. Excavations in Iraq have revealed evidence of localized flooding at Shuruppak, a layer of riverine sediments, radiocarbon dated to about 2900 BC, interrupts the continuity of settlement, extending as far north as the city of Kish, which took over hegemony after the flood. Polychrome pottery from the Jemdet Nasr period was discovered immediately below the Shuruppak flood stratum, other sites, such as Ur, Kish, Uruk, Lagash, and Ninevah, all present evidence of flooding. However, this comes from different time periods. Geologically, the Shuruppak flood coincides with the 5.9 kiloyear event at the end of the Older Peron, in Israel, there is no such evidence of a widespread flood. Given the similarities in the Mesopotamian flood story and the Biblical account, floods in the wake of the last glacial period may have inspired myths that survive to this day
Deluge (mythology)
–
"The Deluge", frontispiece to
Gustave Doré 's illustrated edition of the Bible. Based on the story of
Noah's Ark, this shows humans and a tiger doomed by the flood futilely attempting to save their children and cubs.
Deluge (mythology)
–
"The Deluge", by
John Martin, 1834. Oil on canvas.
Yale University
Deluge (mythology)
–
Matsya-
avatara of Lord
Vishnu pulls
Manu 's boat after having defeated the demon.
Deluge (mythology)
–
The Great Flood, by anonymous painter, The vom Rath bequest,
Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
29.
Venice
–
Venice is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is situated across a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and these are located in the shallow Venetian Lagoon, an enclosed bay that lies between the mouths of the Po and the Piave Rivers. Parts of Venice are renowned for the beauty of their settings, their architecture, the lagoon and a part of the city are listed as a World Heritage Site. In 2014,264,579 people resided in Comune di Venezia, together with Padua and Treviso, the city is included in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, with a total population of 2.6 million. PATREVE is a metropolitan area without any degree of autonomy. The name is derived from the ancient Veneti people who inhabited the region by the 10th century BC, the city was historically the capital of the Republic of Venice. Venice has been known as the La Dominante, Serenissima, Queen of the Adriatic, City of Water, City of Masks, City of Bridges, The Floating City, and City of Canals. The City State of Venice is considered to have been the first real international financial center which gradually emerged from the 9th century to its peak in the 14th century and this made Venice a wealthy city throughout most of its history. It is also known for its several important artistic movements, especially the Renaissance period, Venice has played an important role in the history of symphonic and operatic music, and it is the birthplace of Antonio Vivaldi. Venice has been ranked the most beautiful city in the world as of 2016, the name Venetia, however, derives from the Roman name for the people known as the Veneti, and called by the Greeks Eneti. The meaning of the word is uncertain, although there are other Indo-European tribes with similar-sounding names, such as the Celtic Veneti, Baltic Veneti, and the Slavic Wends. Linguists suggest that the name is based on an Indo-European root *wen, so that *wenetoi would mean beloved, lovable, a connection with the Latin word venetus, meaning the color sea-blue, is also possible. The alternative obsolete form is Vinegia, some late Roman sources reveal the existence of fishermen on the islands in the original marshy lagoons. They were referred to as incolae lacunae, the traditional founding is identified with the dedication of the first church, that of San Giacomo on the islet of Rialto — said to have taken place at the stroke of noon on 25 March 421. Beginning as early as AD166 to 168, the Quadi and Marcomanni destroyed the center in the area. The Roman defences were again overthrown in the early 5th century by the Visigoths and, some 50 years later, New ports were built, including those at Malamocco and Torcello in the Venetian lagoon. The tribuni maiores, the earliest central standing governing committee of the islands in the Lagoon, the traditional first doge of Venice, Paolo Lucio Anafesto, was actually Exarch Paul, and his successor, Marcello Tegalliano, was Pauls magister militum. In 726 the soldiers and citizens of the Exarchate rose in a rebellion over the controversy at the urging of Pope Gregory II
Venice
–
A collage of Venice: at the top left is the
Piazza San Marco, followed by a view of the city, then the
Grand Canal, and (smaller) the interior of
La Fenice and, finally, the Island of San Giorgio Maggiore
Venice
–
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Venice
–
Photography of Venice at dusk
Venice
–
The Grand Canal seen from the bridge at
Ponte di Rialto
30.
Prato Cathedral
–
It is dedicated to Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr. It is one of the most ancient churches in the city and it was built in several successive stages in the Romanesque style. The church contains a number of works of art, in particular fine sculpture. The church of Saint Stephen was built in a meadow after an appearance of the Virgin Mary near the village of Borgo al Cornio. The first building was a parish church. Which the earliest document dates from AD994, the expansion of the church began in the 15th century and transformed the modest building into one of the most lovely Gothic-Romanesque buildings in Tuscany. The cathedral is documented as early as the 10th century as the Pieve di Santo Stefano, located in the Borgo al Cornio, the first settlement in Prato. The current structure dates from the Romanesque period of the 12th century, the upper stage of the bell tower was constructed in 1356. During the 14th century the cathedral acquired an important relic, the Sacra Cintola or Belt of the Holy Virgin. This brought about the enlargement of the edifice by the addition of a transept which is attributed to Giovanni Pisano, the Cintola Chapel was also built at this time to house the relic. In the early 15th century, a new façade or west front was added in the International Gothic style, in the space between the two was created a narthex or corridor leading to the external pulpit, built by Michelozzo and decorated by Donatello between 1428 and 1438. The seven original reliefs of the parapet were removed from the pulpit in 1967, the façade is divided into three sections by shallow buttresses or pilasters. The façade has a central portal with a lintelled doorway surmounted by a Gothic arch. In the lunette over the door is a terracotta sculpture by Andrea della Robbia depicting the Madonna with Saints Stephen. Below the central gable, a clock is set into the façade. It is surrounded by segments of the marble and forms part of the harmonious design. The frescoes of the chapel are also of the 15th century. Internally, the church, built on a Latin cross ground plan, has a nave and they are separated by elegant columns of green serpentine, the capitals being attributed to Guidetto
Prato Cathedral
–
The west front of the cathedral
Prato Cathedral
–
Outside pulpit by
Donatello and
Michelozzo
Prato Cathedral
–
Columns
Prato Cathedral
–
Chapel of the Sacred Girdle - fresco by
Agnolo Gaddi
Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Uccello". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "
